


Falling Together

by Top_Tsun



Category: Gabriel DropOut (Anime), Gabriel DropOut (Manga)
Genre: F/F, Kurona only appears in the manga I swear she isn't an OC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-07-28 12:48:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20064277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Top_Tsun/pseuds/Top_Tsun
Summary: A series of mishaps and unexpected coincidence pushes unlikely lovers together... but perhaps they were only rushing the inevitable? A story about angels, demons, humans, and the red strings that tie their lives together.





	1. Appreciable Differences

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Of Angels, Demons and the Mishaps connecting them](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11046996) by [Kuugenthefox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuugenthefox/pseuds/Kuugenthefox). 
  * Inspired by [Movie Night](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11657058) by [orphan_account](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account). 

> I've been getting back into Gabriel DropOut lately and have found an appalling lack of fanfiction about it... particularly on the shipping front! There are a few fantastic examples, and I suggest you go read them, but very few beyond those. Thus, this is my small way of trying to correct that. As for anyone who cares, please note this will be a mish-mash of elements from both the anime and the manga. Sorry for any inconvenience this might cause.

"Chisaki...?"

"HYAAAAAAAAH!"

Tapris tripped in shock, falling to the ground with a soft squeal. Shifting to glance over her shoulder from her new position, she was surprised to find a short, pale-skinned girl standing over her, short black hair combed over one eye and a vaguely nonchalant expression on her face. The girl wore a black hoodie similar to the one her revered Tenma-senpai wore, along with a gray headband and gray pleated miniskirt alongside a pair of black socks and simple gray tennis shoes.

"Geez, Kurona-san!" Tapris whined. "You can't keep doing this to me! I'll seriously get a heart attack!"

Instead of responding, the young demon merely continued staring at the fallen angel before kneeling down and extending her hand. Blushing at her own klutziness, Tapris accepted the help and rose to her feet. Kurona looked the angel up and down before turning to the brick wall Tapris had been peering out from behind a moment ago and, pointing at the wall, asked, "What were you doing?"

Blush deepening, Tapris began frantically waving her hands as she replied, "U-uhm! I wasn't d-doing anyth-thing at all! Certainly-ly not _spying_ on my senpai's ho-home or a-anything demonic like that! No, I-I was, uhm, uh..." Glancing around frantically as though she would find inspiration for the perfect excuse, the angel wavered in place for a moment before finally declaring, "I-I just happened to _overhear_ that Tsukinose-senpai was going to visit Tenma-senpai's house, and I w-was just curious as to what they would do!" Nodding furiously, she concluded, "Yeah! That's it!"

Cocking her head to the side, Kurona silently stared at the angel, penetrating Tapris with her single eye. Shifting uncomfortably under the demon's leering, Tapris stuttered out, "W-would you like to do it too, Kurona-san?"

Nodding, Kurona waited until Tapris had resumed her original position next to the wall before leaning against her, the demon laying her head onto Tapris's shoulder for a better view. The angel's blush deepened once more as she thought to herself, _isn't this too close!?_ Before she could pursue the thought further, however, Vignette came in to view. The pair stood perfectly still, afraid to tip their hands and give their hiding spot away to the older demon.

...

Vignette paused, glancing around for a moment. _That's weird_, she thought to herself, _I was sure I could feel someone watching me for a moment_. Shrugging it off as idle imagination, she instead turned her attention to the reason she had come out today: helping Gabriel clean up her room.

_I swear_, the demon thought, _it seems like that incompetent angel hasn't picked up a** single thing **since she was corrupted_...

Sighing in discontentment, Vignette shook her head before flexing her fists, a determined gleam in her eye. _Well, I can't keep her apartment clean all the time, but I can at least clean it today!_

This bold declaration carved upon her heart, Vignette advanced along the final stretch of her journey, fully aware that her trials would begin the second she knocked on the door.

...

Perking at the sound of knocking echoing quietly through the house just slightly penetrating through her headphones, Gabriel decided to ignore it as a trick of her mind. After a long moment of silence, the knocking resumed, louder this time. Turning to glance at the door, Gabriel rubbed her chin as she tried to figure out who had come to her house. _Let's see..._ she thought, _I'm pretty sure I didn't buy anything off the internet, and I shouldn't have to sign for anything in the mail... Satania mentioned being busy today, there's no way Raphiel isn't stalking her, and Vigne..._

Gabriel's blood ran cold.

_Vigne was going to come over and give me a hand with the cleaning. And she told me to get started without her._

Quickly taking stock of the room-assorted empty instant meals strewn about, half-read books and magazines strewn about, clothes laying wherever she had taken them off-she nodded with an air of certainty.

_I'm doomed._

The insistent knocking had turned into insistent banging, and the incompetent angel realized that she had only a few moments to save herself before Vigne simply came in and destroyed her for not only ignoring the door but neglecting her cleaning as well. Stumbling to her feet, Gabriel couldn't help but think, _man, what a pain_ before stumbling unsteadily towards it, legs still shaky from long disuse. While she didn't have a chance in heaven of even starting to clean before Vigne came in, if she could just get to the door in time, Gabriel could make some attempt at an excuse for not noticing it before and cover up the fact that she hadn't even tried to start cleaning.

Rushing along the hallway, the failangel couldn't help but smile to herself as she neared the door. _Hah! Made it just in time!_

As she reached for the knob, however, the lock turned, and the door began to open.

_...Or not..._

...

Gabriel bowed before Vignette, a noticeable bump forming on the angel's head. "I'm sorry, Vigne-sama!" She said from the floor. "I will forever bear the mark of shame from this oversight! May God in Heaven strike me down for it!"

Vigne, for her part, seemed a bit embarrassed by her own reaction to Gabriel's slothfulness, but she nonetheless remained resolute. Pinching her nose for a moment, the demon eventually said, "Well, as long as you're ready to start, I'll overlook it... but seriously, Gab, at least answer the door sometimes... sheesh..."

Jolting in place, Gabriel realized that she only had a few moments to think up an appropriate excuse to avoid having to clean. _Well, I guess I could try to trick her into going shopping..._ she considered, _or maybe I should try to get her to cook lunch...? Yeah, it's been a while since I last had something other than instant food, so that seems good..._

Raising her head from the ground, Gabriel began, "Hey, Vigne..."

"Yesss, Gab~?"

Gabriel cringed as she realized that Vignette had already produced her pitchfork, a dark shadow falling across her features as her horns took form on the sides of her head. Apparently, the demon knew her well enough to recognize when Gabriel was trying to worm her way out of something.

"Actually, nevermind..."

...

Vignette glanced across the room at Gabriel, now sporting a second bump forming on top of the first. With a sigh, she thought to herself, _honestly, that failangel is such a hassle to watch over sometimes_. Considering this for a moment, she couldn't resist adding, _she is kinda cute this way, though..._

Blushing slightly, she returned to her cleaning with greater aplomb.

As she picked up Gabriel's clothes, however, she took note of what appeared to be a bag of candy sitting on the table. Curiously picking it up, she glanced over the colorful packaging before reading its name. _7 Color Drops, huh...?_ She thought. _I've never heard of these before... I wonder what they taste like?_

Glancing across the room, Vignette saw Gabriel tottering around aimlessly. _How does she plan to get this place clean that way, huh!?_ She fumed. Turning once more to the candy, Vignette thought, _well, I am pretty curious now... and if it's only one, there's no harm, right? Plus, it's kinda like comeuppance for all her laziness, right? Right!_

Determination filled her, Vignette opened the package, fished out a piece of candy (_red? Maybe it tastes like strawberries...?_ she thought), and popped it into her mouth.

_Not bad,_ she thought. _Plus, stealing a piece of candy! This **has** to be demonic, at least a little bit!_

What she didn't notice was that Gabriel was staring at the demon, horror etched on her face.

...

_Those are those emotion candies I confiscated from Satania, right!?_ Gabriel thought to herself, furiously trying to figure out how to keep things from escalating. _Alright, so I have to figure out which one she took, and who they're directed at, yeah? Let's see, that manual said that if the emotion requires a something to focus on, it will focus on the person they received it from... and since Vigne took it from me, that means I'm the target. Okay, now I just have to figure out which one she took..._

As Gabriel puzzled over this, Vignette suddenly realized that the failangel was staring at her. Suddenly, feelings of guilt and remorse set in, and Vignette nervously fidgeting in place for a second before saying, "U-um, sorry, Gabriel, I found some candies of yours and to, well, get back at you for how you were acting today, I decided to eat one... but I guess they must have been pretty important to you... Sorry..."

_An out!_ Gabriel realized. _She's given me an out! Now all I have to do is get the candies away from her and then ask her which one she ate. Operation Gimme Candy, go!_

Coughing in an attempt to appear nonchalant, Gabriel extended her hand and said, "Eh, it's whatever. Just give it back, okay?"

Nodding, Vignette returned the candies and Gabriel mentally pumped her fist. _Stage 1 clear! Now, I just need to get through the rest without her catching on._

"S-so, Vigne," Gabriel said, cursing her blundersome tongue, "Which one did you eat, anyway?"

Blinking in confusion, Vignette stroked her chin for a moment before raising her index finger with a bright smile on her face, saying, "Ah, it was red! Strawberry, I think? The flavor was hard to place."

Gabriel screamed inside, offering a forced smile and an awkward "oh, is that so," to Vignette. _Alright, red. I ate that one, too; that was..._

Her blood ran cold.

_That was love._

The angel's panic began escalating. _Aw, crap! Any second now, she's gonna start being all creepy and touchy and lovey, right!?_ She thought._ AAAAAAH, this is gonna be SO AWKWARD! Okay, I just have to keep her occupied for the next few hours and keep her from macking all over me..._

"Well, sorry about the candy, Gab. We should keep cleaning, though." With absolutely no further ceremony, Vignette returned to picking up and cleaning the apartment.

For what felt like a full minute, Gabriel stood absolutely still waiting for anything to evidence a change in the demon.

_...nothing's happened._

...

Gabriel slowly cleaned up her portion of the room, shooting the occasional glance at Vignette. Picking up the package of 7 Color Drops, the incompetent angel pored over it, trying to understand what was going on. _I'm glad that nothing happened, but... WHY didn't anything happen!?_ She pouted, irritated and confused by this inscrutable turn of events. _It's not expired, the instructions were followed, the candy was eaten, so everything should be working, right!?_

"Hey, Gabriel!"

"GAH!" Gabriel shouted, jumping as Vignette suddenly tapped her on the shoulder. The demon cocked her head in confusion, surprised by the angel's intense reaction.

Blinking for a moment, Vignette eventually shrugged and said, "Uh, it's about time we broke for lunch, Gab... What did you want to eat?"

Subtly shrinking away from the demon's touch, Gabriel stammered out, "U-uh, I'm in the mood for, uh, whatever, so just make what you want... probably not much to make, though, fridge is pretty empty..."

With a bright smile, Vignette replied, "Well, let's go shopping, then!"

Forcing another smile to match Vignette's, Gabriel offered a small "Yay..." in response.

"Alright, let's get going! Oh, but you should get dressed first, Gab."

"WHA!?"

...

Gabriel trudged along, discontent seared on her features as she watched Vignette bounce around the market district, enthusing over sales and wavering over what to purchase and what to make for lunch. Checking her phone, the angel noted that it had been two and a half hours since the demon had eaten the red candy. _Okay, this is starting to get annoying,_ Gabriel thought. _It's_ _**definitely** been long enough for the candy to start working... so why hasn't anything changed? _With a sigh, she added,_ well, I really wouldn't mind it being a dud, but... I'm just afraid it's gonna suddenly kick in out of nowhere and I'm gonna have to deal with that..._

"Hey, Gab!"

Blinking out of her thoughts, Gabriel glanced up and noticed Vigne waving her over to a nearby stall. Coming over, she found Vignette fretting over vegetables, her brow furrowed in concentration. "I'm trying to decide if I should get some carrots or some leeks," she said, "I was thinking about making some sort of soup, but I didn't sure know what to get. What do you think?"

Shrugging, Gabriel answered, "Eh, I don't really care; you're pretty good at cooking, and you know what I like pretty well. You always pull through and make something good, so it's not like you could..." Gabriel trailed off, considering her own words. _Huh, Vigne really always does go out of her way to make stuff the way I like it..._

Smiling and oblivious to Gabriel's distraction, Vignette said, "Alright. Just give me a minute to finish up here, and then we'll go back to your apartment, alright?"

Gabriel answered with a nod, still carefully watching Vignette.

...

"Alright," Vignette said as they entered Gabriel's apartment, "I'll start on the soup. Try to keep working on cleaning while I make it, okay?"

Nodding, Gabriel wandered over to her trashed room and sighed, thinking, _honestly, if she were in love with me, wouldn't she cut me some slack once in a while?_ Sighing, she amended, _Well, not really... I guess she would still **want** me to at least try and take care of myself._ Grumbling, she concluded, _man, love sounds like a drag._

"Alright! Gab, lunch is ready!"

Turning to Vignette (and taking longer than she would like to admit to stare at the demon in the apron she had somehow dug out of the cupboards) Gabriel said, "Ah, yeah, alright... thanks, or whatever..."

...

Glancing at her phone and then at Vignette, Gabriel thought, _Alright, according to this, the candy should be fading in 3... 2... 1... aaand now!_

Vigne paused. She raised her face to the sky. She took a deep breath.

_Here it comes,_ Gabriel thought, _here it comes!_

Vignette sneezed. "Geez, Gab," the demon said, "the dust is so thick over here, you could sneeze from looking at it too hard!"

A moment passed. Two. Then three.

"SERIOUSLY!?" Gabriel cried to Heaven.

...

"Alright, it seems like that's all we'll be able to do today, Gab," Vignette said as she opened the door to the failangel's apartment. "It's not really done, but we can pick it up again some other day, alright? Just try to keep this place up in the meantime!"

Waving the demon off, Gabriel replied, "Yeah, yeah, I know... see you in school tomorrow, all right?"

With a smile, a nod, and a wave, Vignette left the apartment.

And left Gabriel to her thoughts.

_Damn it! I just don't get what was going on today! _She thought as she flopped onto the floor in front of her laptop. _Yeah, sure, it's crap off the Hell Shopping Network, but still! I actually know this stuff works from first-hand experience, so why didn't anything happen?_

Reaching into her hoodie, Gabriel produced the instruction manual and the package from her pockets, reviewing each in turn.

_Well, according to this, it should still be good for another hundred years, so it didn't expire..._ Turning the package over to look at the back, she mentally grumbled, _gah, freaking Satania with her crappy sort-of-works, sort-of-doesn't products..._

Flipping through the manual, Gabriel continued her exasperated complaints. _Guh, everything in this says that everything should have worked. I should've had to fend her off with a stick, so why didn't I? When is the monkey's paw part gonna start kicking in?_

Reading through the final page, however, Gabriel noticed a small block of text that had managed to escape her notice previously and read over it:

**WARNING: This product WILL NOT AFFECT individuals already experiencing emotions of an intensity equal to or greater than emotions engendered by this product directed at the target of said emotions. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.**

Reading this, Gabriel relaxed immensely. _Aaaaaah, so that's all it was,_ she thought. _Kinda hard to work through when it's written in legal mumbo-jumbo like that, but it's basically just saying that it didn't do anything to Vigne because she already loves me, right? Okay, that makes everything that happened today a lot easier to get._

Remaining confusion cleared up, Gabriel turned to her laptop, opening one of the many MMOs she spent her time in. She clicked once or twice, ready to begin yet another few hours of grinding for fantastic loot and rewards. Or she would have, had her mouse not suddenly fallen silent and her finger not gone still.

Bolting up, Gabriel cried once more to Heaven, "WAIT, WHAT!?"


	2. Confused Words

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:
> 
> You expected some forgotten story?
> 
> Too bad!
> 
> It was just a fic that won't be abandoned anytime soon!
> 
> ...No? Not funny? Just me, then?
> 
> Okay.

"So Vigne loves me, huh...?" Gabriel wondered aloud, lowering her head onto her desk as she considered this particular revelation.

Glancing at the desk the affable demon would normally occupy, she noted with distaste that it was still empty. Raising her gaze to the clock on the wall, Gabriel furrowed her brow as she noted that only a few minutes remained before class would begin. _Seriously, Vigne,_ she thought, _Other than that one time you got sick, you've NEVER been late before. Why today!?_

Before she could stew over this further, however, brown fabric filled her vision and vicious chuckling filled her ears. Without even lifting her head, Gabriel knew what, or rather who, had happened: Satania.

"Gooood morning, Gabriel!" The idiotic demon declared. "Today is the day... the day we _finally_ settle this age old feud between us! Today," she paused dramatically, raising her hand to cover her face, "we determine who is TRULY the more evil!" She punctuated her statement by raising her chuckling to a full-on cackle.

Ordinarily, the lazy angel would have ignored Satania this early in the morning, instead catching up on a last-minute nap or begging Vignette for the answers to whatever homework she had neglected this time. Today, however, Gabriel had a problem, and Satania was-in her mind, at least-the cause.

Thus, instead of her ordinary lack of response, Gabriel's hand shot up to take hold of the demon's necktie.

Satania's face fell and fear crept into her expression. _What's Gabriel doing!?_ She frantically wondered. _I was expecting her to try and ignore me-as though someone could ignore the great future archdemon!-but I wasn't expecting THIS!_

"G-G-Gabriel!" The demon stuttered out, "Wh-what do you think yo-you're doing!? Unhand me, you foolish angel!"

Rather than obeying the order, Gabriel gave a sharp yank on Satania's necktie, dragging the demon's face down to the desk with a sharp squeal. Now eye-to-eye with her, a shadow fell across Gabriel's face as she said, "Satania... you're going to help me with something today, and you're not going to complain..." With another sharp tug on the tie, eliciting yet another cry from the demon, the angel added, "Got it?"

Satania began to nod frantically and Gabriel released her, satisfied with the answer. Deciding it would be easiest to explain what had happened before they went any further, Gabriel began, saying, "Remember those Seven Color Drops I took from you a while back...?"

...

"But if that happened, it can only mean...!"

"Yep," Gabriel said, cutting off Satania's interjection. "It means Vignette loves me."

The demon's brow furrowed and uncertainty covered her face as she asked, "So... what should we do?"

Sighing, Gabriel replied, "If I _knew_ that, wouldn't I have already done it!? It's _your_ crap, so you fix it!"

"Ooh," Raphiel said, her eyes sparkling, "This situation has become quite interesting~!"

Silence fell across the pair as they turned to this newcomer. This lasted for a moment before Gabriel finally asked, "Where did you come from?"

Smiling, the sadistic angel replied, "Wherever Satania-san is, so too shall I appear!"

Gabriel shook her head, silently refusing to mess with whatever was going on between Satania and Raphiel and instead asked, "So you heard all of that, then, right?"

Nodding to the affirmative, Raphiel answered, "Indeed I did! Not only that, but I have an excellent idea!"

"Uh-huh," Gabriel said, cocking an eyebrow in suspicion, "And that idea is...?"

Raphiel raised a finger informatively, saying, "Well, if you just-"

Before she could say anything more, however, the door of the room swung open to reveal an out-of-breath Vignette, her uniform looking far shabbier than usual and a strong blush blooming in her cheeks. "I can't believe it!" She declared, punctuating her statement with a shudder. "I was almost _late_!"

Her smile stretching just a bit wider, Raphiel said, "Well, that's my cue to leave! Have a pleasant day, Satania-san, Gab-chan!" This said, Raphiel rose, exiting the classroom with a small nod to Vignette as she passed.

Returning the gesture, the demon walked over to her desk, flopping into the seat with an exhausted sigh. Turning to Gabriel with a small frown, she said, "Sorry about not being ready this morning... I somehow slept through my alarm, and when I finally woke up, I completely forgot that we had school today!" Slouching, she added, "By the time I realized what had happened, I only had a few minutes before class began. I barely had time to get dressed and make lunch before rushing over, so I guess I look pretty sloppy right now..."

Reclining into her chair in false nonchalance, Gabriel replied, "Isn't that how you want to look anyway? Y'know, all undisciplined and demonic? Plus, it was probably my fault you showed up so late anyway... you must have been pretty tired from helping me clean up my place."

A small blush colored Vignette's cheeks as she started to reply. Before she could say anything, however, the bell rang, and she instead offered Gabriel a bright smile before turning to her materials as the class began.

...

"Is something wrong?"

Gabriel jumped in her seat before turning slightly to glance at Vignette. The demon was staring back out of the corner of her eye, concern carved into her expression.

With a subtle shake of her head, Gabriel muttered, "Nah, I'm fine."

The demon's brow furrowed and she whispered back, "Are you sure? Because you've been... well, actually _paying attention_, instead of drifting off like you usually would."

_That's because I keep thinking about you whenever I do_, Gabriel thought to herself. Although she had tried many times throughout the class to ignore the teacher and nap like she normally would, each time she would start thinking about Vignette. Then again, it wasn't that hard to do so when the demon sat right next to her and kept on staring like she was. Instead of saying of this to her, however, the angel whispered back, "Nah, just feeling kind of out of it; I'll be fine, okay?"

Frowning, Vignette opened her mouth to reply before simply sighing instead, whispering, "Okay, but don't think we aren't going to talk about this at lunch!"

As Gabriel opened her mouth to offer some retort, a shadow fell across her. Turning to ask what the big idea was, she found herself staring at a white button-up shirt.

"Oh." The angel said, offering a winning smile. "Hi, teach..."

...

Gabriel let out a horrific groan as she left the classroom, her whole form drained of both vigor and color. "Sheesh," she muttered, "I don't know HOW that damn teacher can keep complaining like that for _hours_... I'd be exhausted after the first few minutes, carrying on like that."

"Well, it is kind of your fault, you know."

The angel jumped with a strangled yelp, surprised by Vignette's sudden comment. After pausing a moment to recover, she turned to the demon and complained, "Don't lurk around like that! You scared the heck out of me!"

Vignette frowned, concern returning to her face as she asked, "Are you sure you're fine? You've been sort of... high-strung, I guess, all morning." Her frown deepening, she continued, "It wasn't your fault I overslept, alright? I just wasn't thinking and ended up paying for it."

"It's not that," Gabriel replied, slouching and glancing away in an attempt to appear nonchalant, "Like I said in class, I'm just feeling kind of out it, alright?"

Her expression softening, Vignette said, "Well, if you say you're alright, I guess you're alright. I'm not sure angels can get sick, but... take it easy, alright, Gab?"

"Will do." The angel said with a nod. "Anyway, what are we doing for lunch?"

Vignette's smile returned as she replied, "Well, I was thinking about going to the cafeteria as soon as we find Satania. I'm not sure where she went, though; let's go find her!"

...

"W-what do you want, yo-you wicked angel!?" Satania cried as she thrust an accusatory finger at Raphiel.

The angel in question giggled softly for a moment before she replied, "Why, I was hoping that you would that you would be so gracious as to allow me to dine with you, o great Satania-san!"

Satania glanced at her surroundings for something-_anything_-to get her out of this situation. Originally, she had left class to use the restroom and stretch her legs while she waited for Gabriel to finish whatever it was the teacher was doing to her and then go to lunch with Vignette and the incompetent angel. However, that had all changed when she found herself lost... and cornered by _her_.

Crossing her arms to form a large 'x', the demon answered, "No way! I'm _not_ eating lunch with a demonic angel like you! How do I know you didn't... poison my food or... poison my juice or..." Pausing for a large gasp, she continued, "Or poisoned the air!? Oh NO! I'm dying! I'm already dead!" She collapsed into a heap on the ground as she clawed at her throat, taking haphazard lungfuls of 'poisoned' air as she screamed, "_Nooo!_ Is this the end of the great never-to-be archdemon!? Why must fate be so CRUEL!?"

Raphiel smiled as she watched this display, thinking, _oh, I'm SO happy Satania-san's always around... everything would be so **dull** without her!_ After taking a moment to giggle at Satania's antics, the sadistic angel reached into her bag, saying, "Well, I guess you won't want _this_, then...?"

The idiotic demon paused in her writhing, cracking open one eye to glance at what Raphiel held up. For a moment, drool appeared to leak from a corner of her mouth and she began to breath heavily. However, she just as quickly began to frantically shake her head, wiping her lips as she sat up and crossed over her chest. "Not this time!" Satania said, a determined expression taking shape as she continued, "Not again! Every time you bring out melon bread, the dog shows up and takes it away! You're not going to fool me this time!"

"But Satania-san, the dog is your _faithful familiar_ now!" Raphiel replied, her smile turning wicked. "He's locked up safe and sound in your apartment, far away from this precious bread! _Now_ would you please have lunch with me?"

Wiping her nose as she rose from the ground, the demon extended her hand to Raphiel as she stared in any direction the angel wasn't in. "Alright," she said, "but be _grateful_ I'm gracing you with my glorious presence!"

Her smile stretching a few inches wider, Raphiel replied, "Oh, yes, I most certainly intend to..."

...

Satania kneeled on the ground, bawling her eyes out over a torn-and _very_ empty-melon bread wrapper. Raphiel sat with her back to a nearby locker, watching with delight as she stroked a small white dog.

"Oh my!" The sadistic angel exclaimed, an innocent smile fixed upon her face. "I **completely** forgot that I had let our little canine friend out of your apartment this morning for a walk! And how _foolish_ of me to forget to bring him back! Well, it just goes to show that even the best of us all make mistakes!"

The demon made no reply, still bent over in tears over the melon bread that the dog was currently munching on.

As this all happened, however, a single purple eye stared intensely at the dog, recognition flickering in its unfathomable depths.

...

"Chisaki," Kurona muttered, tugging on the angel in question's long muffler, "That dog..."

Squealing in surprise at the sudden pull, Tapris turned to the insistent demon, spluttering, "D-don't do that so suddenly, Kurona-san! You scared me halfway to heaven!"

Kurona stood silently for a moment before offering a small, apologetic nod and repeating, "That dog, Chisaki..." before pointing in the direction of the dog in question.

Blinking in confusion, the angel glanced in the direction Kurona pointed to before releasing a strangled cry. She ducked behind a corner, grabbing the demon's wrist as she did and pulling her along. Kneeling as she peeked out from her hiding place, Tapris muttered, "Yeah, that's definitely the same dog that chased me the other day... but what's it doing with Satania-san and Raphiel-senpai...? And what are they doing together, anyway...? What do you thin, Kurona-san?" Turning to the demon, she was surprised to find her almost sparkling, Kurona's eye aglow with enthusiasm. "Kurona-san?" Tapris asked uncertainly.

"Hand..." Kurona replied, staring at the angel. Glancing down, she began to blush brightly as she realized she was still holding the demon's hand.

Yanking her hand away, Tapris began to devolve into a flustered mess as she babbled out, "A-anyway, we shou-ould see wh-what's going on, alri-right?"

Waiting for a nod of assent from Kurona, the angel turned to watch the scene before her play out.

...

"Are you alright, Satania-san?" Raphiel asked, concern began to take shape on her face. "You've been crying for a while now..."

Sniffing heavily, the demon in question replied, "I-I'm fine! I just ha-had something in my eyes!" Covering her face with her arms, she repeated, "I-I'm fine!"

As she continued to wipe her tears away with her eyes screwed shut, she suddenly felt something soft and wet beginning rubbing against her cheek. "Guh!?" Satania cried, her eyelids flying open to find the dog licking at her tears. The canine offered a happy bark before taking up his licking with new aplomb.

"It's not wrong to let others help you, you know," Raphiel said. Satania glanced up, finding the angel standing above her with a kind smile and an outstretched hand. Snorting as she wiped at her nose, the demon accepted the hand, turning her face as she was helped to her feet. Once she was standing, Raphiel added, "Even the best of us need help sometimes."

Satania snorted, offering a half-hearted, "It's not like I needed your help or anything, but..." Trailing off, she remaining silent for a moment before murmuring, "Thanks."

Raphiel shook her head as she said, "You should be more honest with yourself, Satania-san. Anyway, let's go have lunch and then help Gab-chan, alright?"

Nodding, Satania began to follow the angel before pausing to ask, "Yeah, alright. Hey, you mentioned having a plan this morning but never explained it. What _was_ your idea?"

"We need to set up Gab-chan and Vigne-san on a date, of course!" Raphiel answered, not missing a beat.

Shock overtook Satania's face and she opened her mouth to answer. Before she could say anything, a third voice cut her off.

"WHAT!?"

Turning in surprise, Raphiel and Satania found a now _very_ flustered Tapris staring at them, Kurona peeking out from a nearby corner with her usual ambivalent expression.

"Oh dear," Raphiel said, her eyes sparkling as her expression filled with delight. "This just became quite interes-I mean, complicated!"


	3. The Duel Prologue

"Wh-what do you mean, a d-date!?" Tapris cried, her face the picture of confusion. "Tenma-senpai and Tsukinose-senpai- go on a _d-date!?_" The innocent angel fell to her knees, beginning to redden and hyperventilate at the thought. "B-but angels and demons can't love each other! That's _forbidden love!_"

For a moment she continued to panic, but her breathing screeched to a stop when she felt a hand. Glancing over her shoulder, Tapris found Kurona slowly rubbing her back, concern filling what could be seen of the demon's face as she said, "Breathe, Chisaki..."

Pausing to sigh before leaning back into Kurona's touch, the angel began to take deep, slow breaths before saying, "Thank you, Kurona-san; I feel a lot better now..."

Watching with a nonplussed expression as the quiet demon nodded with a light dusting of color touching her cheeks, Satania asked, "So if a demon and an angel being together is forbidden love, then what are you guys are doing?"

Tapris turned to the haughty demon with her brow furrowed in conviction as she replied, "Me and Kurona-san aren't like that! We're not even friends!" Pausing to cross her arms and nod with a serious air, Tapris continued, "Kurona and I are merely have an unshakeable bond with one another forged both in heaven and hell! Nothing like that at all!"

As Satania opened her mouth to reply, her confusion only deepening as she considered this dubious line of logic, she found her voice silenced as Raphiel's hand closed over her mouth. "Not a word, Satania-san," the ill intentioned angel said, a dark shadow falling across her face. "It's more fun if they find out on their own, isn't it?" The demon merely squealed, her eyes filling with fear as she otherwise fell silent.

The demon now pacified, Raphiel turned her gaze to Tapris as she asked, "I presume we will have your support in this, Tap-chan?"

"Absolutely not!" The younger angel declared, crossing her arms into an 'x'. "There's no way I could support a romance between a demon and an angel!"

Cocking a mocking eyebrow, Raphiel asked, "Oh? But you still haven't told Kurona-san to stop rubbing...?" With a chuckle, the sadistic angel mentally added, _well, I might have told Satania not to ruin it, but it's alright to play with them at least a little bit, yes?_

Pausing to squeal and shake Kurona off of her, the excitable angel rose to her feet and asked, "Why are you trying to do this anyway!?"

With a malicious grin, Raphiel replied, "Well, you see..."

...

"...and thus, I came up with the 'Get Gab-chan and Vigne-san Together!' sche-excuse me, I mean, the 'Get Gab-chan and Vigne-san Together!' _plan_." The angel concluded, holding up an informative finger as she asked, "So... any questions?"

"Yes!" Tapris declared, her face a bright, flustered red as her hand shot up. "Why are we _trying_ to get them together!?" Glancing off to the side, she quietly added, "I mean, I get why they could be, but... why are we helping them...?"

Raphiel smiled, a sharp glint in her angelic eyes as she answered, "I have been thinking, and as far as I can tell, we have two choices: either convince Gab-chan to fall in love with Vigne-san, or convince Vigne-san to give up on Gab-chan." Folding her hands as she closed her eyes in prayer, the manipulative angel asked, "And if the Lord should lay so easy a path to follow as convince Gabriel to fall in love with Vignette, have we any choice but to accept it with gracious and thankful hearts? After all, what He put together let neither angelic nor demonic hands pull apart, yes?"

Her blush dialing down just slightly as she glanced away, Tapris muttered, "Well, I guess when you put it like that, there's no real choice, is there...?" Lifting her gaze to Raphiel, the younger angel asked, "So what should we do, then...?"

Her smile stretching ever wider, Raphiel replied, "We'll have Satania-san take care of it, of course!"

"WHAT!?" Two voices cried out at once.

...

Satania and Tapris both kneeled speechless before Raphiel, their mouths agape and their eyes blank in confusion. After a moment, Satania shouted out, "Wait, _what!?_ I am the great Satanichia Kurumizawa McDowell, the future demon king of all of Hell! My time is a valuable resource, not to be wasted on such petty things as arranging a date for my archrival!" With a quiet _tch!_, she concluded, "How dare you even consider wasting my time with such trivial nonsense!?"

"Oh? But it is exactly _because_ you are the great Satania-sama!" Raphiel replied, raising her hand to hide her wicked smile. "Surely arranging something so trivial as a date is nothing for one as truly wise as you!"

Blushing slightly at the unexpected compliment, Satania glanced away as she muttered, "Uh... well... when you say it like that..." Pausing to collect herself, she began to grin once more as she lifted her face, saying, "Of course not! Nothing is beyond the power of a great one such as I, and a lowly request this simple would require but a _fraction_ of my strength!"

Tapris's hand shot up, the angel's face a flustered, defiant mess as she blurted, "Absolutely not! Tenma-senpai and Tsukinose-senpai d-dating is one thing, but going on a date arranged by this wicked _King _of_ Demons!?_" Shaking her head, she furrowed her brow in determination as she continued, "Absolutely not! As if I could ever allow such a blasphemous thing to occur!" Her face fell and a blush rose to her cheeks as she stammered out, "T-there's n-no _telling_ what sort of messed-up things she could trick Tenma-senpai and Tsukinose-senpai into doing! She could get them to _hug_ or _hold hands_ or even _kiss!_" Her voice dropping to a murmur and her blush creeping further and further across her face, Tapris concluded, "And then, after that... they could get led astray down bad streets... and then they would go to bad places... but then they'd get caught up in the atmosphere, and then...!"

As the innocent angel squealed, covering her face in shame as she knelt down once more, Raphiel stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "As fun--I mean, _dastardly--_as that would be, you won't have to worry about it at all, Tap-chan!" The sadistic angel said, a bright smile on her face. "I knew you wouldn't be alright with this arrangement, so I devised a contest!"

"A contest?" The innocent angel repeated, starting to rise from the ground. "What kind of contest?"

Her smile stretching into something far more sinister, Raphiel replied, "Why, the great 'Gab-chan and Vigne-san Date of a Lifetime!' contest, of course!" Folding her hands in excitement, she explained, "Both of you will take turns setting up a date between Gab-chan and Vigne-chan, and whoever designed the date they like the best will be declared the winner!" With a wink and a raised index finger, she added, "I'll be working with Satania-san to make sure that she doesn't take things _too_ far, so to keep things fair, Kurona-san will be helping you out, Tap-chan!"

"A contest, eh?" Satania said, rubbing her chin with a smug grin. "Well, I hope you're prepared for the shame I'm about to visit upon you, foolish angel!" She punctuated her statement with a wicked cackle, turning away before concluding, "This will end the same as any other time, so look forward to it!"

This said, the demon began to saunter off with Raphiel in tow. Glancing over her shoulder at the younger pair, the angel called out, "We'll speak again when our plans are completed! I wish good fortune upon you all!"

Gritting her teeth, Tapris silently swore to finally defeat Satania in this contest before turning to Kurona, surprised to find the demon's lone visible eye sparkling. Slightly flustered by the typically reserved demon's excitement, Tapris stuttered out, "A-anyway, lunch break will be ending soon, so we had better go find Shinohara-san."

Nodding in response, Kurona followed Chisaki in her search for Shinohara; although it may have been a trick of light, passers-by would have sworn she was skipping after her friend.

...

Gabriel's gaze zipped around the lunchroom, seeking any oddity or object of passing interest that would keep her from looking at Vignette. The demon in question was not being particularly conductive to this goal, however; she sat across the table, staring intensely at the angel's face with her brow wrinkled in concern, not moving her own gaze for a second.

_Geez, Satania,_ Gabriel fumed, screwing her eyes shut to avoid catching a glimpse of Vignette. _Where are you when I really _need_ you, huh!? I told you this was your fault, but you just rush off at the first chance you get!_ With a heavy sigh, she concluded, _I knew that demon was useless, but this is a little much, isn't it?_

Finally finding the awkward silence unbearable, Vignette began, "So... what happened this morning, exactly?" With a frown, she added, "I know I already said this, but my being late this morning wasn't your fault, alright?"

Gabriel sighed as she answered, "Look, I already said that's not what it is. It's just..." For a moment she sat silent once more, still refusing to look at Vignette. Finally, she opened her eyes and turned to the demon, something uncertain and insecure in her gaze as she said, "It's just... Listen..." Pausing again, she seemed to steel herself and call forth all her courage before continuing, "Hey, Vigne... what do you think of me?"

Blinking, the demon cocked her head, confused at the angel's sudden shift in attitude and the unexpected question. After mulling it over for a moment, she replied, "Well... you're my friend, right? Sure, you're kind of a lazy slob who can't really take care of herself-" Gabriel winced at this, nevertheless nodding in agreement as her friend continued, "-but none of that changes the fact that I care about you. I want to see you happy and doing well, and sure, that means I worry about you a lot, but..." Scratching her cheek in uncertainty, she concluded, "All of that just adds to your charm, I guess?" Glancing away in embarrassment, she said, "Geez, making me say all those embarrassing things... What's this about, anyway? You're not starting to worry about you being an angel and me being a demon or something, right?"

The angel shook her head, an inscrutable expression on her face as she said, "Nah, of course not. Y'see, it's... y'know what, nevermind." Glancing away from Vignette once more, she continued, "We should probably get out of here; it's almost time for the next class."

Vignette said nothing, simply nodding her assent before standing up and following the angel out of the lunchroom.

...

Rubbing her temples in frustration, Gabriel said, "Explain just how me going on a date with Vigne improves this situation at all."

The angel found herself standing outside her homeroom, having been cornered by Satania and Raphiel after class. With Vignette still talking with the teacher about a piece of homework she was having trouble understanding--a piece of homework which Gabriel herself had neglected to do--Raphiel had decided that now was the perfect time to explain her plan to the slothful angel.

With a cheerful smile, the sadistic angel answered, "It's obvious, isn't it? We _think_ Vigne loves you, but we need to be _sure!_ Humans use dates to assess how someone feels about them all the time, so with this, you'll quickly be able to uncover the truth!" Her smile shifting to a sadistic smirk, she mentally added, _Of course, if this works correctly, you'll be forced to realize how you feel about Vigne-chan!_ Hugging herself in delight, she continued, _That will be **so** much fun! And I even managed to convince Tap-chan and Satania-san to compete over this! It's the perfect plan!_

Watching her begin to giggle maniacally, Gabriel frowned, an otherwise deadpan expression on her face as she asked, "You're thinking of something stupid, aren't you?" With a sigh, she continued, "Whatever. It's not like it's gonna cause me any trouble, I guess, but don't go overboard, alright?"

"Don't go overboard with what?"

The trio turned with surprised, guilty eyes to find Vignette watching them, polite interest in her face.

After a moment of awkward silence, Gabriel cleared her throat before answering, "It's nothing, don't worry about it." As Vigne's eyebrow shot up in suspicion, the angel coughed again, saying, "Anyway, we should get ready for the next class. See you later, Raphi." Then, without waiting for a reply, the lazy angel turned and rushed off.

After a moment passed, Vignette asked, "I know she doesn't always show up, but... she does know the next class is right here, right...?"


End file.
